Credit card charges notification query

CarteNoire

Hi

I’m new to the forum but have often used it for advice, so wonder if any more experienced people can help me?

I’ve recently discovered that I’ve been charged for late payments and additional interest on a balance that I transferred to an MBNA credit card last year. I have been making regular payments and I fear that this is partly my fault due to not scrutinising my online statements closely enough, but I’d like to know where I stand.

Basically I transferred a balance in May last year onto an MBNA card that was interest free until March 2015. I received an email telling me that the transfer was successful and a payment was due so I made a manual payment on around the 15th and set up a faster payment/standing order from my bank for £100 to go out every month on the 1st or 2nd, depending on weekend dates etc. I checked my first month's statement and all was fine with no problems, so to my shame, I just let it run. Obviously I saw that the money had gone out of my bank account every month and I checked the balance of the credit card occasionally to check it had been received.

I didn’t print out the statements in full until a couple of days ago when I became suspicious about the balance amount. At this time I noticed that I’d been charged £12 per month for late payments every month since July. I’d also been charged interest on the account. When I phoned up to query this, the guy from MBNA explained that I’d been paying a day too early every month, because my statements were issued on 2nd or 3rd, so the payment had registered for the previous month. I asked why I had never been notified, either by telephone, letter or email that my payments were late, as I’d obviously have rectified the situation immediately. I was told that I should have checked my statements and that I had never received any notification because payment was usually received within a 10 day period of the payment date which was usually either 22nd or 23rd. I asked to speak to a manager as I appreciate I should have been more vigilant, but felt that this was some kind of ridiculous loophole used by the bank to justify the charges and didn’t take a common sense approach. I was told the best they could do was offer me a courtesy reduced rate of 1.9%.

I’m not particularly happy about this, and whilst I appreciate some of the fault is mine, I wondered whether it would be worth me making a complaint to the customer advocate officer. Has anyone heard of similar situations and can advise?

I’d also like to know if it’s a better idea to pay by direct debit (I’ve had trouble with it before – bank’s fault, which is why I didn’t do it) and if I’m likely to have any problems if I transfer this balance straight to another interest free balance transfer offer. I have no other problems with late payments on mortgage, bills, other cards etc.

Many thanks!

Tixy

Direct debit is definitely a way to ensure this doesn't happen (assuming you have money in your bank account).

MBNA are known for being fairly reasonable when this happens and will often refund some of the fees or reduce the interest rate if the debtor calls and apologises for the oversight and offers to set up a DD going forward.

If the debtor calls within the first month or 2 they will often agree to reinstate the 0% deal as well.

In terms of getting another 0% balance transfer deal - do you know if MBNA have recorded any late payments on your credit reports in relation to this mistake?

If you do get a new card then the same could certainly happen if you pay by standing order as the payment dates move and due to weekends/bank holidays. You must ensure you pay at least the minimum payment sometime between the statement date and due date.

Even if you do pay by DD it is always worth taking a couple of minutes to read through your statements in detail each month.

CarteNoire

Thanks for this, I guess DD is the way forward. What's the best way to find out if MBNA recorded any late payments on my credit report? Should I contact them directly or find a copy of my credit report? Sorry for my ignorance, haven't had to do this for years!

Tixy

I'd get a copy of your credit reports.
You could start with noddle as its free and quick to access and see if MBNA report your account to noddle(callcredit).
Alternatively you can get your copies of your files with experian and equifax which cost £2 each.